Thursday, August 27, 2015

KPIX Posts Info That Virginia Gunman Worked For KPIX

Some of you were angry that I mentioned that the Virginia gunman who killed two journalists live on the air, once worked for KPIX.

Well, how did I get that info? From KPIX itself which posted the news almost immediately after the news first broke.

Maybe they're looking for an identity after all.

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13 comments:

  1. TonyAugust 27, 2015 at 9:20 AM

    People react to the TV killings in ways that reflect their own fears and beliefs. The responses have included emotional pleas for better mental health services and stricter gun control. I agree, but those weren't the issues that went to my own dark places this time. The fact that the killer was something of a colleague at KPIX had nothing to do with it, either. He was a college intern in the newsroom, but I had never seen or heard of him before yesterday.

    He went on to become a MMJ (multi-media journalist) at other stations, a reporter-photographer-editor-blogger one-man-band combo pack that requires cold efficiency and the elimination of time-wasting critical thinking. The guy clearly planned his actions and laid out the now-familiar-in-retrospect clues on social media for a long time beforehand. What got me in my gut was how flawlessly the MMJ in him functioned AFTER he shot and killed his two former co-workers.

    He tweeted, cross-promoted newly uploaded video on his Facebook page, transmitted his 30-page manifesto to ABC, updated his resume and provided the family photos he knew other reporters would come looking for, all while fleeing from police and preparing his suicide, the ultimate deadline.

    His actions could be the story line for a 2015 remake of Medium Cool.

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    Replies
    1. Compass ArchitectAugust 27, 2015 at 8:32 PM

      >>that requires cold efficiency and the elimination of time-wasting critical thinking.

      In any circumstance where the end results and the approach (and contingency tactics) are specifically (and quietly) defined and agreed by the implementer, his/her "auto drive" mindset goes in motion.

      Therefore, critical thinking is no longer in play. ...

      Delete
    2. TonyAugust 28, 2015 at 5:26 PM

      CA, thanks for the observation. You may be right. Reacting as a viewer and journalist, I was literally sickened by how flawlessly the killer used the tools of my former profession.

      Delete
  2. Dick WolfAugust 27, 2015 at 9:29 AM

    Perfect material for Law & Order: SVU, starring Brian Copeland as Bryce "The world shit on me" Williams.

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  3. AnonymousAugust 27, 2015 at 10:14 AM

    "Maybe they're looking for an identity after all."

    Way to disrespect the victims. This is not a story you should be mixing in with your opinions about KPIX. Poor taste, Rich!

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  4. AnonymousAugust 27, 2015 at 11:08 AM

    Not sure why the anger. I was taught to always look for the local angle in every story. So the fact that he was from the Bay Area is news here locally. Yes, that includes Oakland, KPIX, SFSU, and his friends and family in the area. Those that are angry need to look inward and see if they have handled other news events the same way (without looking for that local angle).

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  5. AAugust 27, 2015 at 11:22 AM

    KCBS sure went after SF State today, asking people if they thought the fact that the guy went to school there would (somehow?) reflect poorly on the the school or the students. They totally didn't play up his working at KPIX or ask anyone how that reflected on the station.

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  6. AnonymousAugust 27, 2015 at 12:01 PM

    Rich, do you realize he went to OUR high school??

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  7. AnonymousAugust 27, 2015 at 12:49 PM

    Dan Rosenheim,KPIX News Director had no choice but to put it out immediately that Flanagan was once employed there as the other Bay Area news organizations,some of who had staff members that worked at KPIX and had easy access to people close to him and would have put it out anyway after they gathered info on the man's background in the Bay Area.

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  8. AnonymousAugust 27, 2015 at 2:30 PM

    PIXY, PIXY, PIXY...

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  9. AnonymousAugust 27, 2015 at 6:01 PM

    Why not mention Vesper Flanagan? The media repeated the names of James Holmes and Dylan Roof ad nauseam.

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  10. AnonymousAugust 27, 2015 at 6:14 PM

    @11:08 AM....
    ITA...I too am puzzled by the outrage by local residents by acknowledging that Flanagan had strong Bay Area ties?! This is something that I have seen ALL of our Bay Area Media Outlets do time after time!

    The most recent tie in to Northern California, are the guys that stopped a Terrorist on a Train in France. They are all from Sacramento, one dude is even a student at Sac State! Get over yourselves people, it just a News Story that is relevant to the Bay Area?!...Seesh, Smdh...

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  11. TonyAugust 28, 2015 at 5:34 PM

    KPIX's coverage of the story on their website has been first rate, by standards of journalism and crisis management public relations.

    ReplyDelete

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